Ishaelian Historical NPCs
by T.A. Saunders, S. Robles and D. Schneider, ©2015 v1.6 Adon “Duke” Polakoff Race: Sengaardian (Human) Age: 37 Class: Paragon Duelist Description: Adon is a wide-shouldered, burly Sengaardian male that bears the scars of his days on the arena circuit with a blinded right eye and a scar across his hardened visage to tell the tale of his final gladiatorial fight. Preferring to keep his head shaved, but dark beard full, the dark-eyed bouncer of the Parlor of Plenty is known to be perhaps one of the more conversational and friendly members of Pahcheeka’s security. History: Much of Adon’s early life is left to speculation and the knowledge of a few close friends. Like many Quivynites, he was a resident of Sengaard, hailing from the town of Thereen, before being drafted to serve in the Three Way War for the King-Priest’s army. Despite having an unusual talent for killing, Adon grew weary of the increasingly brutal orders handed down by the King-Priest. While slaughtering those who fought for their beliefs was one thing, killing innocent civilians just to cow a population was quite another; one such order passed down from a captain ensured both the captain’s death, and Adon’s desertion from an already demoralized unit. While agents of the Royal Army gave chase for a time, they soon lost Adon’s trail somewhere not far from Cairyn, where he managed to sneak aboard an airship heading for Imarel. Discovered midway through the trip through the Ether by ship’s mates, Adon was imprisoned and then later taken to Tashran, where he was sold to a lanista by the name Aminus Sentarin, to cover the costs of his ‘free voyage.’ Aminus had been a harsh lanista, but not an unfair one. Adon quickly began to appreciate the grim truth of his new, savage life as a gladiator. Many of the people who fought on this circuit were either criminals, or they wanted to be there, wanted to face death. So long as he killed when the crowds wished for a kill, and spared when crowds called for a spare, Aminus gave the man both a cut of the profits, and the occasional freedom of a fine whore, or a good meal. It wasn’t a terrible life, for being another man’s property. It was in this time, he had earned the nickname “Duke,” the full moniker being, “The Duke of Death.” Adon had managed, in five years, to rack up over two hundred and ten kills. For a time, it seemed as though he would never be defeated, and would leave the arena an old man. Aminus had even considered freeing Adon, before the worst actually did happen. The very night he was to make that decision, Adon’s luck would change for the worst. In a match against an Albadosian man known as Shadano the Serpent, Adon had grossly underestimated both the speed and tenacity of the smaller and thinner man. Not long into the fight, Adon found himself the victim of several precise wounds made by the man’s katars, versus only the few deep, but non-threatening wounds made by his own favored bearded axe. While putting up a valiant fight, that cost Shadano three of his fingers on his left hand, The “Duke of Death” eventually found himself missing an eye, and on his back before the superior gladiator. A crowd favorite for many years, the cries to spare his life were so many, that it came as a deafening roar across the arena in Kasyr. But Aminus, who lost so much coin betting on his now crippled gladiator, had little choice but to sell him to a mysterious Sengaardian man named Rhoan, who generously paid twice what Adon, in his present condition would be worth in a slaver’s market. The infamous Riverman of North Reach had been a longtime fan of Adon’s and knew well what his fate might be, had he not intervened. So it was that “Duke” as he simply prefers to be called, became a doorman of Pahcheeka’s Parlor, under the loosest of indentured servitude contracts. The arrangement is a simple one: freedom for loyalty. An arrangement that has thus far, proven to be a mutually beneficial one. Bihlee Maize Class: Fortune-Hunter of Orin (Swashbuckler/Warlock) Appearance: Perhaps one of the cleanliest Masoq on Imarel, definitely so on Ishaela, Bihlee Maize is rather anomalous to the stereotypical depiction of his race — called a species by some — as disease-ridden, conniving little marauders bereft of any semblance of sophistication or forethought. Standing a spindly 4’9’’ with the slightest hunchback and knobby skin the color of coal, he has eyes like polished obsidian that gleam with uncanny intellect. While not entirely able to rid himself of the musky odor inherent to his kind, Bihlee is surprisingly clean and well kempt, and is rarely seen without some manner of chic attire: two-to-three-piece suits, bowler hats or top hats, voguish boots and gloves, and sometimes even a monocle. The gloves are perhaps of greatest importance, because his curling Masoqi nails simply do no good for encouraging business transactions. History: Bihlee Maize, a most peculiar merchant from Imarel, is… a Masoq. While his history prior to taking up peddling wares is a mystery to most, he was allegedly exiled from his tribe for “incendiary and blasphemous” ideas about establishing more cordial relations with outsiders, as opposed to banditry. His early years saw him scavenging battlefields, dumps, and sometimes even an occasional ancient ruin for wares; some of it was of actual value, other things were naught but junk. Some years into his attempt at conducting business, Bihlee met major resistance due to what he called racism… although after a bid to return home, the Masoq decided it was mostly justified. To offset people’s blatant distrust of his presence, he travelled from place-to-place via a wagon drawn by a pair of domesticated sand drakes named Hah and Aha. His travels and search for fair treatment led him to pay homage to the Spirit of Fortune, relying on his insight and boons to escape more than one prejudicial detainment through sleight of hand, all of which only strengthened his devotion. His unprecedented survival saw him acquire a veritable hoard of strange, and a mixture of cunning and luck made him surprisingly wealthy. Something he’s found, either a fragment of the Star or something else, has done wonders for his age. How many Masoq live to reach half a century. A certain charlatan in the Order of the Flamebringer has more than once payed a tidy sum to acquire items best kept from open sale, and sometimes provided him with leads on where he might peddle or acquire interesting things. One of such leads came to him following the A`thrachean War, suggesting he might gather some of the scattered regalia and relics of the Old Houses of Sengaard… probably as a means for the Flamebringers to remove certain acquisitions from the market for destruction. Assisted by his “gift” from Orin, a Servant who regularly looks like a bunny but transforms into a humanoid form to act as a shopkeeper and representative… so the poor Masoq doesn’t attract too much negative attention. Blacksmith Thurgarm Deepfury of Clan Dunathyn Race: Kaal`Kor (Dwarf) Age: 247 Class: Paragon Berserker Description: Thurgarm, a monstrous descendent of the Deepfury family said to carry the smoldering rage of Vocor’s dying breath in their very bloodline, was once an insurmountable Berserker who — according to hearsay — would burn akin to a torch on the battlefield when he became truly incensed, capable of felling a throng of demons alone. Despite having ‘retired’ to be a blacksmith, the aged Kaal`Kor still works the smithy bare-chested, proudly displaying his battle canvas of rune-tattoos and scars. The man’s head is bare beyond some charcoal tufts along the ears, the rest no doubt permanently scorched away after countless battles and replaced instead with an intricate tattoo, and hazel eyes that smolder like unvanquished embers. He, like most Kaal`Kor males, has a braided beard… although it’s a bit sketchy, because sometimes the forge singes such an inopportune thing. History: A veteran of the battlefield, Thurgarm participated in most every renowned war on Ishaela in the last two centuries and even a scant few on Imarel, whenever the Kaal`Kor were involved. Wading amongst warm and cold bodies like bare-chested and outfitted in only patchwork trousers, a leather harness from which to hang his weapons, and numerous baubles and trophies from previous battles braided, pinned, or tied to his tattoo-covered person. Emerging unvanquished from each and every battle, this stalwart combatant met his match, but not his subduer; battling the Benefactor’s Xirath legion, whose self-repairing numbers and insidious armaments nearly cost Thurgarm by crippling the tendons in his forearms and wrists so he could scarcely grip a weapon. The exact circumstances of his survival are unknown, but he claims to succumb to such a rage he combusted into something resembling a Vocorite and defeated his foes unarmed before collapsing. While he was recovered and survived his surgically precise injuries, Thurgarm was never quite able to recover all his ferocity, and the strength and dexterity needed to maneuver weapons with the speed and strength expected of a Berserker never returned in their entirety. Upset more at having survived to be what he called a tottering cripple than anything else, he thereafter dedicated the remainder of his life to modernizing outdated Kaal`Kor arms so they they could compete with the technological advancements of the Xirath: a stringent hater of the Asyndi, who’ve embraced such aberrant technology in Farwind. With the partial restoration of Hrlundrir, Thurgarm opted to open a smithy near there… but unlike most Kaal`Kor he quite hates the underground where there is no sunlight, and decided to establish it nearby a tavern and subterranean temple of Kaal in Thereen. A surly, grouchy, leathery grump, the man doesn’t care much who his customers are so long as they look him in the eyes and say what they plan to do with his work, and can often be heard ranting about various things through the smithy’s open windows. Captain Kana Kitar Race: Asyn-Shei Age: 122 Class: Paragon Swashbuckler Description: Kana is a blemished beauty, with raven black hair, that has been cropped short, full lips that go unpainted, save for the most important occasions, coppery skin whose softness has been taken by callouses from a laborious life at sea, and later the Ether. Her eyes however are untouched by the trials of her dangerous life, given to a smoldering amber color, that hints to the Shar’Vaire part of her bloodline. History: Kana is presently one of the High Captains of the Shiverblood Five, and the captain of the airships, Envoy of Kazaar, Winsome Mistress, and the Revenant. Having seen her fair share of adventure (and jail time) during the Second Godwar, primarily from kidnapping a Vyssian emissary to the nation of Meluah, Kana was one of the first pirates to capitalize on the destruction of the World-Gates, and the heavier reliance on airships that could travel through the Ether to ‘hop’ to Ishaela. Realizing with war ravaging Imarel it was simply too dangerous to be a pirate, Kana and several of her like-minded sorts decided to work the ‘other side of the fence’ as it were, and set up operations in Ishaela, where their activities went largely unchallenged. With preoccupation with the Three Way War, any naval or air power that could cause them great sufferance was otherwise predisposed, allowing her and her proclaimed Shiverblood Five to conduct their pirate empire under a loose set of guidelines: 1. While on the Isles, there is truce. 2. On the open sea, or sky there is no truce, save what you make. 3. When a council is called, you come, no matter what. 4. Betray the truce, betray the Five, your life and crew are forfeit. Having penned the guidelines herself, Kana has on more than one occasion in the ten years this has been going on, found ways to bend the rules a bit in her own favor. Considered the defacto leader of the Five, she is often the one who calls council, or stirs her fellow pirates into action against a particular foe. Carter Higgs Race: Human (Hillsman) Age: 43 Class: Swashbuckler/Thief Description: Few people have laid eyes upon Carter Higgs and this is entirely by the man’s design. Those that have describe him as a short, stocky man with auburn hair that sports gray wings along his ears. Clean-shaven, and brown-eyed, one could almost mistake him for a favorite uncle, or possibly even a newly minted grandfather. History: Carter is the leader of the Robber Barons of the Reach, though nobody would ever know it. Nobody ever actually sees Carter, unless he wants them to and usually if he wants to be seen, it’s bad news that ends up seeing him. It’s through this air of secrecy he has been able to avoid both the law of North Reach and assassination attempts from the rival thieves guild, The Riverway Rogues. Unlike Rhoan, who came with Darius Tucker during the Great Exodus, Carter came to the fledgling city of North Reach roughly a year later, as an immigrant from Shazaar (though some think he might have been running from the law even then). Formerly of Brookshire, Carter had already established a gang in that city that had been doing remarkably well for themselves, until the Peasant’s Rebellion of 1351, then of course, the following Second Godswar. Initially, Carter had even thrown in with Gregory George and the Flatcap Revolution that came soon after, but when it became apparent that while he and the famous architect, turned revolutionary agreed on many fundamental principles, that there wasn’t going to be any concessions made for his ‘questionable operations,’ that it was time to move on for richer waters. So, Carter and a few of his trusted men gained passage on an airship bound for Ishaela, and never looked back. That’s where things got complicated. Carter, being the man he is, had no idea there was already an established thieves guild in North Reach, when he settled there. Though, it probably wouldn’t have mattered much to him if he had known. At first, there was only passing contact between the upstart Carter and his growing gang, and the established Riverways. Where Rhoan tended to deal with higher class business and had his fingers in trade, Carter embraced controlling industry, through establishing worker’s rights unions. If industries wanted to have workers make their products, they’d have to make sure Carter got his share, or workers would start not working. While Rhoan was aware of Carter’s activities, it didn’t seem to affect his business or his thieves any, until the ‘understood’ agreement of not attacking constables or the Watch was broken by Carter’s gang, which in turn was put to blame upon Rhoan. After a long, terse conversation with the infamous Lord-General, Rhoan decided it was time for him to meet the upstart, and ensure he understood the way things were done in North Reach. Nobody actually knows what was said, or what happened at the meeting, as it was simply the two men without henchmen or protection, but to this day, Rhoan has a scar on his abdomen, and Carter has one under his left eye that neither man had before the meeting. Whatever came to pass established the history of violence and division between the Robber Barons and the Riverways for the last seven years, until very recently. With the advent of the new war with Sengaard, and the debacle of Tucker’s scheme with the Sons of Sengaard, Carter and Rhoan have called a temporary truce, in order to protect the city from the crumbling government. At least for Carter’s part, the truce remains honored so long as the gold is good. Chancellor Armonis Cayne Race: Sengaardian (Human) Age: 31 Class: Paragon Will-Shaper (Clairvoyant) Description: Armonis Cayne is the pinacle of what a young Sengaardian male looks like. He is tall, pale, and his hair is as black as night. His eyes are a deep brown, and he is always seen wearing a dashing suit. He has a voice that tends to sway anyone, no matter what, and this palatable charisma is always put to use for the betterment of the Quivyn government History: Armonis Cayne was born during a time of violence and dissent. His father was a soldier and his mother a combat healer, and as such he grew up in various military bases around the Kingdom of Sengaard. He joined the army shortly after his father and mother died in combat, and that began a long military career as a ‘specialist’ for the Sengaardian army. In official and unofficial documents and sources, he is credited with many assassinations of political leaders, merchants, and dissidents that posed a threat to the Kingdom of Sengaard. When the Three Way War turned its ugly head, Armonis Cayne surprised many by pitching with Darius Tucker, the Lord-General of the Sengaardian army, and fled to Quivyn. After Amnon Aligaard was killed in the final battle of the Mirislyr campaign, which many Quivyni believe Armonis Cayne had a hand in, one way or another, popular elections swept across the island nation, and the charismatic soldier gained the title of Chancellor of Quivyn, the second-in-command of the country and primary director of domestic affairs, and domestic security. Currently the Chancellor is imprisoned on racketeering and fraud charges. Father Paulo Class: Paragon Minister of Kaal Race: Quivynite (Human) Age: 34 Description: Standing an imposing 6’1’’ of ruddy muscle, Paulo eschews the exotic face-painting and costume of his homeland in favor of the plain attire expected a rural Kaalian priest, fashioned from a mix of leather and tweed. His dark hair is grown long, done up in intricate braids as per Kaal`Kor fashion, and his dark brown eyes twinkle with an undaunted and peaceful strength. He’s often seen with his young son, who looks much like him but with slightly fairer skin and his mother’s green eyes; shorter of course, and not yet sporting braided hair. History: A Native Quivynite with a story to tell, Paulo immigrated from Quivyn to Sengaard a scant few years prior to the Three Way War due to being fed up with his people’s monotonous way of life. Expecting something magnificent upon arrival, the man wandered about Mirislyr only to realize that despite the different exterior, life there was just as stagnant and dull outside the life of the nobility. He fell into a state of despondency until a drunken stupor led him to the bed of a farm girl entranced by his exoticism. Briefly settling down with her, his ephemeral reprieve was disquieted with the heartbeat of war. As open warfare broke out, his pregnant fiancé became a casualty of rebellion and he was forced to flee with her broken body in his arms. The heartbroken man arrived in the town of Thereen, so distant from Quivyn that the conflict had scarcely touched it, to find refuge in the hidden chapel of Kaal beneath a rundown old pub. His begging prompted a compassionate monk to call down a miracle, returning the woman to what would be a sadly fleeting life. She survived a dismal few months, only long enough to give birth and see her son’s face before passing on in the unwed arms of his father. His heart wounded but not broken, Paulo decided to dedicate his life to Kaal for giving him the opportunity to raise a son, quietly preaching words of togetherness and unity from the underground whilst caring for a sickly son. When the monk overseeing the subterranean chapel was captured and executed into the A’thrachean War a decade later, Paulo volunteered to take-up the mantle in his place. Once the Company instigated rebellion there, he and his meager congregation emerged from hiding to assist with healing the injured and the town’s defense, and at its conclusion opted to begin the renovation of a derelict building into a temple of the gods. High Lord Broderick Stonnes, Hand of the King-Priest (deceased) Race: Sengaardian (Human) Age: 60 Class: Paragon Seer Description: High Lord Broderick Stonnes is an older man. He is bald with a grey goatee and of a tall, burly stature. Often seen wearing regal clothing that is, at the very least, mildly extravagant, Broderick Stonnes has a reputation among the people as being a frivolous spender, which is made all the more ironic since he is the king’s financial advisor. He is perceived as boisterous, funny, a Grand Master of the art of Gronka, and overall a strange remnant from a time when the current King-Priest’s father was in power. However, a select few have seen Broderick Stonnes when he is not in public, and this has caused some rumors among the Sengaardian people that, perhaps, might be leading a very careful double life. The rumors go that Broderick Stonnes, when alone or in a small group, turns into a very serious and severe man, with a permanent scowl marring his face and a mean streak a mile wide. A few courtesans even say that under all of Broderick Stonnes’ fancy clothing is a body covered in strange, occult tattoos. But these rumors are nearly impossible to pin down. History: Stonnes comes from a family that traces its roots back to the first kingdom of men, and even the first men to come into contact with the Sivanoshei. He inherited his position of High Lord from his father, and his father inherited the position from his father, and so on and so forth. Stonnes had a reputation of being a flamboyant and silly man; however, when the Three Way War began, a different side of Broderick Stonnes came to the front. He sided with the King-Priest, and without the intervention of Stonnes and his men, the King would have lost the war within the first weeks of the rebellion. After the fighting ended and the royalist forces were crushed in the Second Battle of Sengaard, Broderick Stonnes was the one who made the order to hang Amnon Aligaard’s corpse for forty days and forty nights, and in the wake of this, he established the royalist regime’s secret police, the Corpse Guard. It is rumored that Broderick Stonnes still runs the Corpse Guard, but the crown officially denies this. Regardless, rumors about this strange man persist, going so far as to say he is the real power in the throne room, not Evran Estaraan. Jimko & Kimjo Race: Hidulan Half-Giants (identical twins) Age: Unknown, estimated roughly mid-twenties. Class: Paragon Berserkers Description: Both Jimko and Kimjo favor a clean-shaven head, with a single, shaggy topknot. Both brothers have brown eyes, a slight underbite and a sloped skull, to further develop their brutish visage. The twins are broad-shouldered, pot-bellied, but exceedingly strong, even amongst their kind. History: Like Duke, the Half-Giant twins Jimko and Kimjo are the ‘property’ of “Riverman” Rhoan Sihvan, though surprisingly they were not acquired through a ludus, as many believe. The twins tale is a far more simple one; they attempted to rob Rhoan and Pahcheeka on the road to North Reach one fine afternoon in mid-Lim. Stopping their coach, and beating senseless their driver, it is said that Jimko and Kimjo demanded they surrender all their coin, or they’d kill Rhoan and Pahcheeka. Much to the Half-Giants dismay, neither the Riverman or his Plainswoman beauty are pushovers. The resulting altercation ended with both the giants soundly beaten, Pahcheeka with a run in her stocking, and Rhoan with an unfortunate bit of snot on his cravat, from one of the brothers. The deal was a simple one: they could either work off their accrued debt to Rhoan, or he could simply kill them and allow the crows to finish what remained of them. Preferring life over death, the twins agreed, and have been loyal servants of Rhoan ever since. Despite having long since covering the damages to his coach, Pahcheeka’s clothing and the abuse Rhoan’s driver took, Jimko and Kimjo still continue to serve the couple. Mostly it is believed that they enjoy looking at all the pretty women in Pahcheeka’s Parlor and there’s lots of free food, including mustard. The twins really like mustard. King-Priest Evran Estaran, King of the Kingdom of Sengaard (deceased) Race: Sengaardian (Human) Age: 43 Class: Paragon Celestialist Description: The King-Priest Estaran used to be a young, dashing man with a reputation for seducing women (and men) all over the kingdom. That was when his father was in power, before the Three Way War. The King-Priest has weathered with age, lines appearing on his face, his hair grey, scars covering his chest, arms, and legs. The King-Priest is a man who looks hateful and scornful before all else. History: Evran Estaran, before the assassination of his father and the outbreak of the Three Way War, was a young hotshot stud with a kingdom as his decadent play-ground. But when the war came, Evran had to quickly learn how to run a kingdom that was falling apart, and most importantly, how to run an army. Many speculate that without High Lord Stonnes, Evran Estaran would have lost the war in a stunning defeat. Since the King-Priest defeated Amnon Aligaard (under circumstances that are incredibly mysterious), he has ruled the Kingdom of Sengaard with an iron fist, crushing ‘heretics’ under foot and commanding several secret police agencies and constantly building up a new army to retake Quivyn. By no means does any lord or lady of Sengaard think of crossing Evran Estaran like they did his father, for now they know that King-Priest Estaran takes no prisoners, and in his mind, the war is not yet over. Lady Dana Victoria Lynn Race: Sengaardian (Human) Age: 41 Class: Paragon War-Mage Description: Lady Lynn is a coltish woman, who carries herself with the mingled dignity of a wartime general and a lady of the court. Once long, plaited platinum blonde hair is now shorn in a simple bob cut and regal features are marked with the wear of battle and a notable scar that adds a crease to lips on the right side, to a jagged line down her delicate chin. Her eyes are an icy blue, a reflection perhaps of a woman who has had to fight for far too long. History: Daughter of Sir Gerald Leonard Lynn and Beatrice Ophelia Lynn, Dana was born into a life of privilege and respect, despite being born into one of the lesser houses of Sengaard, though this was not always the case. The House of Lynn, under Gerald’s grandfather, Sir Bennett Marcus Lynn, had been the High Lord of King-Priest Almagodan Estaran (Evran Estaran’s great grandfather), until the doomed Battle of Cairyn Hills, that saw the death of the High Lord as well as hundreds of thousands of the King-Priest’s forces, against the vampires. While later exonerated from blame for this routing upon the discovery that the king’s war-prophet Ilyanka was at fault, the House of Lynn never quite recovered their reputation with the King-Priest, who would name Sir Henry Matthew Stonnes as the new High Lord. This relinquished control over all of the territory House Lynn governed into the hands of the Stonnes family and relegated the diminished Lynn family to their estate outside the town of Kinser. As the decades rolled on, and the grandson of Sir Henry, one Sir Broderick Stonnes assumed his roll as High Lord, the House of Lynn continued on with a quiet but beneficial roll in the eastern territories. Men and women from House Lynn served loyally under the Stonnes’ standard, and often worked to address problems in local communities, while the High Lord and his armies were off fighting the Three Way War. When casualties began piling up for the struggle for power, High Lord Stonnes demanded more soldiers from the House of Lynn. However, having lost two sons already to the conflict, Gerald was forced to press his daughter, Dana into military service, along with his last veteran company of soldiers. She had been a most unwilling soldier at first, having wanted to use her growing mastery of magic to aid in agriculture, however under the cruel hand of the High Lord and several bloody campaigns, the docile flower of House Lynn was transformed into a cold-eyed tactician. Before long, she came to rise as First Sergeant of the High Lord’s 53rd platoon, second only to Captain David Marus. However, one evening while maintaining watch for rogue undead, Dana had her eyes opened as to the level of corruption within the King-Priest’s army. An altercation occurred between Quivynite spies and the Captain, over the fate of a ‘protected household’ of an away agent of the King-Priest. While rushing down the country road to warn the Captain, she witnessed the horrific display of power and true disregard for the lives of their soldiers when he summoned a powerful demon to kill the spies. The fiend of course, had other plans and took to attacking spy and soldier alike, all with no effort at all from Marus to control the demon from doing so. Having long abided the growing corruption from the King-Priest and those loyal to him, this act was the final straw. Sergeant Lynn directed her forces to assist the Quivynite spies and drive off the demon. With the remains of her platoon now considered ‘rogue,’ she immediately force-marched for thirteen days, to return to the High Lord’s land, in what she felt would be a wholesale slaughter of her family and father’s estate. Rather, she discovered the entirety of High Lord Stonne’s estate in chaos and the surrounding towns in full rebellion. Choosing to act for the good of the people, Lynn and her rogue platoon rallied the surrounding villages along with House Lynn veterans and took control of the eastern lands, the very ones stripped of her family decades ago. At present, Dana holds the eastern territories and has chosen to not advance further into Sengaard itself. Word has been sent out to other noble houses, as the madness of King-Priest Evran continues to spiral out of control, that sanctuary is available in lands under the Lady’s control. Lord-General Darius Tucker, Leader of the Republic of Quivyn Race: Sengaardian (Human) Age: 52 Class: Paragon Soldier Description: Darius Tucker was always seen as the exemplar of what a Sengaardian should be in the post-Kingdom of Xos era. He is a tall man with dark hair and dark eyes, but carries himself with a thick, muscular build. His features are often described as kind, and that he walks with purpose without looking down upon those who do not hold his rank. He is most often seen in his Divinium combat-armor and carrying his blacksteel pistol, Achtar the Slayer, on his side. History: Many legends come from the barracks concerning the origin of Darius Tucker. He was a soldier in his prime during the revolution against the vampiric overlords, and he has many stories attributed to him, some far fetched, some surprisingly true. What is certainly fact is that he was instrumental in the retaking of Sengaard from the hold-out forces of the vampires in the final days of the revolution. He is also attributed to having single-handedly purged the clan of ruling vampires when they scattered and having killed off the bulk of the Cult of Khavos in the following years. When the Three Way War broke out due to political and economic stress brought on by the Second Godswar ''on Imarel, Darius Tucker refused to back the corrupt King-Priest, and he refused to support Amnon Aligaard and his crusade. So, in what is known as the Great Exodus, he took all the soldiers that were loyal to him, their families, and anyone else they came across that swore allegiance to a better Sengaard, and fled to Quivyn. Since then, he has lead the country as the Lord-General, preparing it for the day that it would lead the crusade against the ancient kingdom and establish a new, better government. Due to the political upheaval in North Reach, the whereabouts of the Lord-General are currently unknown. Mirdahlan Nymph Aylenray '''Race': Risen Quivynite (Human) Age: Unknown Class: Vagrant Witch of Inatheea (Swashbuckler/Witch) Description: Aylenray appears as a fetching Quivynite girl with eyes brimming with the stuff of dreams and a mischievous smile full of whimsy, her lustrous black hair set into intricately woven braids decorated with colorful beads and skin a tinge creamier than the usual Quivyni ruddiness. She’s fairly seen without an almost comically oversized headdress fashioned from the pristine white pinions of some Mirdahlan bird and embellished variants of Quivyni attire. History: A pathetic Quivynite, she was born with a senseless phobia of open spaces, her melodramatics led to estrangement between her and her people; as a result of failed attempts to rectify the fear, she slipped away in the night to head to the newly settled city of North Reach…only to realize she had to way to provide for herself. Prior to her death, Aylenray was primrose hostess barely into her twenties making use of her exotic charm and svelte features to enchant clients at a shoddy dive with poor management. She ultimately fell in love with a certain client over the course of numerous meetings, and this faux pas that would come to cost the girl her life. Attracted to her cloistered fears, a child possessed by a servant of Xzahol posed as her love, meeting with her “one last time” to announce he was getting married and would never see her again…and so she became a statistic in a string of suicides at the Precipice of the Lost north of the city, where the instigator made their home. Her restless spirit was eventually recovered, when an Asyndi stumbled across the skeletal digit which it was anchored to. Allegedly seeing a vestige of her “unrequited” love in him, she endeavored to save him from his own foolishness…which after a long chain of events saw the destruction of her vessel and rebirth as a Mirdahlan Nymph. Sadly a fairy tale ending wasn’t hers, as the Asyndi read from a Xosian Grimoire attributed to the Lady of Suffering, and the two were both claimed by her to suffer endlessly… or they would have, were it not for the heroism of a handful of friends. Released once the conditions of Siru’s task were met, Aylenray just barely managed to salvage the Asyndi in the form of an imp: an act which cost most of her power, diminishing her to a younger state. Perhaps as a reward for all her suffering, she acquired a certain painting, and had it hung in the Company’s guild hall in Thereen. Penny Eves, the Receptionist Race: Sengaardian (Human) Age: 32 Class: Alchemist Description: Penny is a woman of dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and pale skin typical of the Sengaardian people. She is of willowy stature, often being considered taller than most women of her race at 5’ 11”. She is a very plain woman, having no features that make her stand out either as a beauty or a crone. While not unfriendly, she is not known for enjoying nonsense and expects those who come to the hall on business to conduct that business without fanfare. Penny is quite fond of promptness and manners. History: Born and raised in Thereen, Penny was the girl that her parents simply couldn’t marry off to a rich noble. However, she was exceedingly bright and did manage to attend school in Sengaard and finished her studies in alchemy before the Three-Way War started. When the fighting started to get thick in Sengaard, Penny returned home to avoid the fighting and instead plied her trade in Thereen. While skilled, there wasn’t a large demand for an alchemist, save to assist surgeons or make love potions scorned lovers insisted they needed. Penny managed a living this way until the A’thrachian War ten years later, which saw all of Sengaard’s cities and towns occupied and plundered by Royal forces. She found herself often working triage for both sick and starving locals, and wounded Royal soldiers, much to her disfavor on the latter account. When Hope Company finally freed the city, she was all too willing to help out in any way she could. Initially, she continued to apply her alchemy skills to the triage that the Company was using to extend the reach of its rebel army, but as theA’thrachian War drew to a close, her services as an alchemist were needed less. Hence, Penny took up also being a receptionist for the new Hope Company Hall with an interest to bring new heroes and others into their service. Penny still does alchemy for the Company and specializes in making healing and antitoxin potions for heroes. “Riverman” Rhoan Sihvan Race: Sengaardian (Human) Age: 38 Class: Paragon Assassin Description: Rhoan is a tall Sengaardian male, with dark brown hair and a thin moustache that he keeps meticulously trim. Always found wearing the finest clothing, the green-eyed businessman of North Reach is the sort that never seems to have a hair out of place, or a wrinkle in his clothing. History: Rhoan is a man with a buried name and a buried life, much different than the one of privilege he enjoys now. His childhood was spent on the streets of a Sengaard recovering from the last remnants of the Vampire Incursion that had put Khavos and his vampires in power. With his destruction, and loss of organization amongst the vampires, Sengaard was free once more. But a free Sengaard was a starving Sengaard, that quickly turned to civil strife as new leadership was decided amongst the survivors. It is in this ruin Rhoan learned young his trade as an assassin from a street gang called the Blood Cross. For a bed, a place to sleep and a few copper sovereigns, he and children like him were hired out to handle anything from stealing information, to killing low ranking nobles. Never choosing one side over another, the Blood Cross grew wealthy, powerful and influential as the ‘new’ Sengaard began to take shape. Rhoan in particular had won the attention of one Lord Harkanan Estaran, for his successful contract assassination of Sir Thomas Grant, who had posed a serious threat to his plans to assume leadership of Sengaard. The young Rhoan convincely played the part of a boy looking to become squired to the Crusader and was accepted. The night before his trials, the boy poisoned the knight and his family, thus ensuring Harkanan’s eventual rise to power. Harkanan, as King-Priest selected Rhoan to be his personal assassin, tasking him with eliminating his enemies in both the political arena and those individuals that tended to be too publicly outspoken. While Rhoan saw Harkanan as an obese, lecherous fool, he found an appreciation for his shrewd manner of balancing the nearly-as-corrupt noble factions. His was a loyalty of convenience to the King-Priest, one that would be tested with the coming of the Three Way War and the rise of Darius Tucker. When Harkanan was assassinated, his son Evran demanded that the royal assassin kill all those who opposed his claim to the throne. However, in the boy Rhoan did not see a mind of weighing and balance but rather simply a mouth hungry for the food of power. While placating the would-be King-Priest with his feigned loyalty, Rhoan served as an instrumental source of information to Lord-General Darius Tucker; one that eventually gave the future leader of the nation of Quivyn the chance to free several thousand Sengaardian people from Evran’s tyranny. When North Reach was founded, an arrangement was made between Darius and Rhoan. The man would be allowed to shed the mantle of his past and assume a new identity and a new life; he would be the carefully cultivated ‘underworld’ that Darius could always keep an eye on and manage as necessary. In exchange, Rhoan would ‘clean up’ whatever political and economic ‘difficulties’ his administration had. It was this arrangement that led to the creation of the Riverway Rogues, and the businessman that everybody knows as the ‘Riverman,’ today. Salesgirl Bernice, “Bunny” Race: Windfall Phantasm, Servant of Orin Class: Paragon Minister of Orin Age: N/A Description: While often donning a humanoid form, Bernice’s supposed default form is that of a Blink Bunny – Orin’s animal of choice – with snow-white fur and a faint glow of gossamer. Tasked with representing her charge when his race might deter business or even lead him to harm, Bernice’s preferred avatar since arriving in Thereen is a vivacious farm girl with a smattering of freckles and smile as incandescent as the sun itself, dressed a bit frumpy to fit with the rural town’s traditional values. History: One of many emanations of Orin, Bernice – like all Windfall Phantasms – is a winsome, flighty being whose mere presence tweaks providence in the favor of those she approves. Once naught but a dismal Blink Rabbit claimed as a Familiar by Bihlee Maize, his good fortune over the decades cultivated the Mirdahlan entity enough to transfigure into a greater echelon. Overflowing with curiosity and whimsy from which Bihlee derived the nickname Bunny out of Bernice, the Masoq’s faithful aide and mascot regularly plays the part of salesgirl to keep attention from him being what he is, charming people with her brilliant smile and sweet-talking bargains out of them. Regrettably, when excited Bunny has a tendency to bounce and speak with the rapidity of an auctioneer…but such is usually a sign of something of great worth having appeared. Bribing Bunny with carrots – something of a vice regardless of form – is a good way to fish for a deal, and once someone gets her talking she will talk up a storm. If one is interested in a rumor to pursue, look no further. Enough bribery might even get a boon of good luck for a few days… if you catch her on a good day. Thegas the Doomhowler, Blood of Aurethaen Race: Voraath* Age: 27 Class: Paragon Berserker Description: Even amongst his own kind, Thegas stands as a towering monument of unsurpassed physical strength and size. Pushing twenty and a half feet tall, and nearing seven-hundred pounds, even the reinforced floor of the Parlor shakes with his steps. His metallic golden skin is covered in the scars of hundreds of battles, and is inked with tattoos dedicating his body and soul to Krondhir, Spirit of War. His dark hair is drawn back in dreadlocks, which he often wears drawn back into a ponytail. Eyes are as gold as his skin, though for reasons unknown, they turn black as coal when thrown into berserker rage. History: Little is known of Thegas’ history before coming to North Reach. Unlike many Voraath, who enjoy sharing their legends, and those of their people, Thegas tends to be laconic, bordering on hostile towards most people. Indeed, it is a wonder that a Voraath such as he would find employ at a brothel, much less anywhere where violence isn’t immediately available for him to engage in. What is known, is Thegas considers Rhoan a war-brother, despite the two having fundamentally different perceptions of the world. Rumors persist that Rhoan saw to the Voraath’s care after a pitched battle of the Three Way War. The tale goes that Thegas, who had no affiliation with either Tucker’s Exodus or the Royal army, came upon an internment camp of would-be refugees, as he traveled to Sengaard. A wandering sellsword at the time, Thegas saw the condition these weak humans were being treated, and chose to act. The end result being Thegas and whatever prisoners joined him, versus two entire squads of The King-Priest’s troops. Rhoan, in his own bid to flee the capital, came across the aftermath of this, thanks to an informant he had in the internment camp. Finding Thegas, with no less than twelve spear shafts shoved into his body, a lopped off hand and numerous other wounds, found himself surprised when the Voraath stood, pulled a spear out of himself and prepared to fight Rhoan. Having only heard of Voraath, and never actually encountering one, till now, the Riverman was more than impressed with his might, and sought to prove himself an ally, rather than the next victim. After bringing him to the attention of Tucker’s clerics and doctors and seeing him well., Rhoan and Thegas became fast friends, often having long (and loud, for the Voraath’s part) debates about matters of honor, tales of battle and other matters of philosophy. To this day, the only time people truly see the Voraath say more than a few words, is in the presence of the Guildmaster of the Riverway Rogues, Pahcheeka and his present mate, Vixis. Currently, Thegas serves as personal bodyguard to Pahcheeka and Rhoan, as well as stands as the present champion of the ‘Riverman Rhoan’s Invitational’ gladiatorial competition.Category:Ishaela (Noobchron)